Thomas S. Wootton and Walter Johnson girls teams each had three runners finish in the top 25 of the event, and each retains those top three, keeping a stake at winning the state championship. WJ has been the state leader in recent years.

B-CC Barons’ Spencer Sampson hits a three-run home run. PHOTO BY MARK POETKER BETHESDA—The Bethesda Chevy Chase Barons boys varsity baseball team (14-7) wiped out the Northwood Gladiators (4-16) in the first round of the MPPSSA playoffs at Bethesda-Chevy Chase field on Monday afternoon.

“A win is a win,” said Barons head coach John Schmidt. “You win and you advance. And that’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to convincingly try to get everything going — every part of our game — hitting, fielding and pitching and, I think, today we did…I think we can hang with a lot of people when we’re going in the right direction…You don’t take anybody lightly…Play for the next day. Don’t think about tomorrow, think about today and today, we took care of business.”

Barons senior catcher Spencer Sampson, who supplied a three-run home run, said, “I think it was a good win for us. It showed our bats are alive and we’ve come out with a playoff mentality. Ready to get it tomorrow.”

Barons junior starting pitcher John Narvaiz explained of this year’s team, “I think in the beginning of the season we had a little bit of overconfidence. We lost a few close games early this season…facing that adversity, came together and we’re ready. We’re battle-tested and we’re ready to leave this section as champions.”

Poolesville’s Zach Widenhofer (12) gets a base hit. He would later hit a three-run homer that helped Poolesville win the game. PHOTO BY MARK POETKER

POOLESVILLE – Poolesville Falcons junior first baseman Zach Widenhofer stole the show with his three-run sixth inning home run to lead the Falcons varsity baseball team (12-2) to a 4-2 win over the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons (10-7) at Poolesville High School on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Falcons head coach Steve Orsini explained that hit one could not script, saying, “No … that would be the ‘Casey At Bat’…. I was saying go over, go over. That kid was back there. That was a shot. He got all of it that time.”

Widenhofer believed it might be the biggest hit of his career, saying, “It might be…. That was my first home run.”

Lily Smith of Walter Johnson High School competes in the floor exercise event. She placed first overall in the meet. PHOTO BY DAVID WOLFE

BETHESDA-The Walter Johnson Wildcats’ gymnastics team dominated their meet against the Whitman Vikings and the B-CC Barons, scoring a combined 166 points.

The Vikings trailed in second with 149.8 and the Barons came in third with 146.05.

Before the meet, the Wildcats placed first in their three previous meets; now that number is notched up to four. The Vikings get their first second-place finish and the Barons get their first time at third place.

It was a strong showing from the Wildcats, as they had at least three gymnasts in the top six for the vault, bars, beam and floor events.

Maddy Pfaff placed second in 2017 Maryland State Diving Championship. PHOTO BY DAVID WOLFE

COLLEGE PARK — Bethesda Chevy Chase junior diver Maddy Pfaff had a chance to pull off a firstplace finish if she finished with a score of 41.96 or higher on Friday evening at the 2017 Maryland State Diving Championship at the University of Maryland Natatorium.

Pfaff completed a beautiful finish but just barely missed the score to win, registering a 41.80.

So Pfaff took second place, behind Oakdale senior diver Melissa Novak, who took first.

BETHESDA—It was a no-good, very bad day for Rockville girls’ basketball Tuesday night, as the BCC Lady Barons dismantled the Rams thoroughly and effectively.

The numbers paint a stark picture of contrasts, a skilled team against a team that was resting its good players and making do with its younger ones. Seven of the Rams’ squad members were underclassmen, while four were seniors.

“We’re young, not that that’s our excuse, but our point guards are young,” said Rams head coach Frank Weaver.

Chloe Sherman from Richard Montgomery hangs on to the ball to force a jump ball versus Bethesda Chevy Chase. Richard Montgomery went on to win an improved to 10-3. PHOTO BY DAVID WOLFE

The Richard Montgomery Rockets (10-3) were facing an uphill battle. One player had fouled out and another had taken an elbow to the face. Yet, the Rockets hung together for a two-point victory against the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons (8-4), 44-42.

Rockets head coach Michael Oakes voiced his opinion on the evening. “I feel fantastic. I am so proud of my team. We knew that this was a huge game for us. We have not beaten B-CC since I’ve been the varsity coach.”

Nearly a year ago to the day, Landon’s Jelani Machen was out of wrestling, having suffered a broken arm early in a tournament.

So the Bears’ sophomore has been catching up this season, most recently with a superlative effort in last weekend’s Battlin’ Barons Duals at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High.

Machen won all five bouts, including two by fall while splitting time between the 160- and 170- pound weight classes, with a 6-0 shutout the host Barons’ previously unbeaten county runner-up and fourth-place regional finisher Seamus Selmi being among his wins.